Torn between my friends, the Curators, and my own safety, I lost sight of my own train of thought. For the moment, I decided to follow Ray and the rest back to Draco’slair. Would DJ protect me if I returned with my friends to the Curators? I liked to hope so, but to my greatest regret, my uncertainties led me to decide otherwise. We pushed west, past a leering garage.
“Psst, Rabies!”
I slowed my jog to a stop. My eyes followed the voice to an opening in the boarded-up garage. There crouched a soft, familiar face. I smiled and ran towards her, catching her in my arms for a warm embrace.
“What the fuck are you doing out there!?” she demanded.
“Jo! What are you doing in here!?” I threw back. After a minute of serious silence, we both laughed as Ray, Audra and Roen joined us.
“Don’t tell her anything,” Ray whispered harshly, his lips grazing my ear as his warm breath crawled down my neck. I rolled my eyes. I saw a classical guitar in the near distance and raced to pick it up. I ran my hands down the individual frets and over the smooth, lacquered body. Plucking each string in turn, I listened for a tune, and then played in Kaki King’s old slap-bass style. Not nearly as satisfying as an electric guitar, but it provided powerfully missed music. Jo followed and asked me where we were headed.
I thought about explaining when Audra spoke up, “We’re just trying to find somewhere safe to survive.” Jo looked from Audra back to me.
“Yeah…” I added, with my left eyebrow raised. I kept playing, happy to have found some tunes, even after one of my fragile nails snapped from the rugged strings. I only caught fragments of the conversation as Ray and Jo fought through an argument. I began to regret my decision. I couldn’t believe that for the first time in years, I chose my crew of misfits over the opportunity to escape the mundane mission.
“Well, you should come with me. I’m goin’ down south,” suggested Jo.
“I can tell you now, there’s nothing for you down there,” Ray claimed. Jo shot him a conquering glare. “What do you even want down there anyway? What are you looking for?” asked Ray.
“Forget these guys, Rabies, come with me, we’ll have some fun,” she coaxed. I almost gave in.
“No, you listen to me,” Ray began, raising his voice as well as his gun, “tell me now or you’re dead!” Typical. Ray took upon himself the role of God once again. I continued my song, hastening the beat to match the action around me.
“Woah, woah! Take it easy. I’m going to see the Detective, okay? That’s all.”
“The Detective,” Ray whispered to himself, lowering his gun. His eyes widened as he ran his fingers through his hair. “O.K. We’re coming with you,” he announced. I don’t think I’d ever witnessed him make such a quick decision. Ray’s determination reminded me of my brother. His mind, so intent upon the mission, barreled down to hope and peace. I knew that my presence only slowed him down. He toyed with my life, but always spared me. My brother joked about me always getting in his way, yet continued to include me in his activities.
My eyes crawled from his dirty black boots up his legs, wandered from his chest up to his neck, and rested upon his weathered face. His rusty-blonde hair lay in thick strands across his cheeks and over his eyes. A smudge of mud traveled from his right eye to his ear. I knew he held his pride above our… relationship, but I longed to discover his past and hear about his plans for the future. I’d have to beat it out of him… after seducing him. Despite our earlier dispute, threatening my life with his gun in my face, I felt safe with Ray. But I wanted DJ. His eyes locked with mine shortly. “Put that shit down, lets go.” If guns hadn’t been involved, I would have used the guitar as a bat to ease my frustration.
We made our way quickly, heading south, keeping our heads down. The MPD may have had lone soldiers patrolling the streets. I nearly tripped on a pile of rubble as Jo led us past a familiar network of tunnels. “DJ...” I murmured, longingly. Maybe I could have left my crew, unnoticed, and found my way back to the Curators, with or without any new technology. At least they’d see that I wasn’t about to betray them, and DJ probably talked Isabella out of banishing me from the complex. My foot slipped and I felt myself falling over the side of the elevated wall that we ran across. My eyes filled with fear.
A hand latched onto my arm, wedging my bracelets into my skin. “Pay attention,” Ray advised after jerking me back firmly on the ledge. I nodded in response, my bands clanking as I rubbed my sore arm. I stood frozen for a moment. He had a strange way of showing it, but Ray definitely felt more than just lust for me.
We dropped down through one of the tunnels and found a looming pair of black doors. Jo beamed back at us, held both doors firmly, and pushed through them, leading us into a dark room. “Keep your voices, and your guns, down,” she whispered, glancing in Ray’s direction. He returned her remark with a sneering smile.
People filled a few seats in the dark room before us. In front of them, a projection of a black and white cartoon played on repeat. It couldn’t have been more than 15 seconds long. Some kind of bird pecked at a duck who played a banjo. It was beautiful. I soon realized that everyone now huddled near the back. When I joined them, Jo reappeared from behind a door and indicated that we were welcome to join her.
We entered the office of the Detective. I found myself oddly attracted to him. To my pleasant surprise, his face, young and charming, greeted us with a smile.
Torn between my friends, the Curators, and my own safety, I lost sight of my own train of thought. For the moment, I decided to follow Ray and the rest back to Draco’s lair. Would DJ protect me if I returned with my friends to the Curators? I liked to hope so, but to my greatest regret, my uncertainties led me to decide otherwise. We pushed west, past a leering garage.
“Psst, Rabies!”
I slowed my jog to a stop. My eyes followed the voice to an opening in the boarded-up garage. There crouched a soft, familiar face. I smiled and ran towards her, catching her in my arms for a warm embrace.
“What the fuck are you doing out there!?” she demanded.
“Jo! What are you doing in here!?” I threw back. After a minute of serious silence, we both laughed as Ray, Audra and Roen joined us.
“Don’t tell her anything,” Ray whispered harshly, his lips grazing my ear as his warm breath crawled down my neck. I rolled my eyes. I saw a classical guitar in the near distance and raced to pick it up. I ran my hands down the individual frets and over the smooth, lacquered body. Plucking each string in turn, I listened for a tune, and then played in Kaki King’s old slap-bass style. Not nearly as satisfying as an electric guitar, but it provided powerfully missed music. Jo followed and asked me where we were headed.
I thought about explaining when Audra spoke up, “We’re just trying to find somewhere safe to survive.” Jo looked from Audra back to me.
“Yeah…” I added, with my left eyebrow raised. I kept playing, happy to have found some tunes, even after one of my fragile nails snapped from the rugged strings. I only caught fragments of the conversation as Ray and Jo fought through an argument. I began to regret my decision. I couldn’t believe that for the first time in years, I chose my crew of misfits over the opportunity to escape the mundane mission.
“Well, you should come with me. I’m goin’ down south,” suggested Jo.
“I can tell you now, there’s nothing for you down there,” Ray claimed. Jo shot him a conquering glare. “What do you even want down there anyway? What are you looking for?” asked Ray.
“Forget these guys, Rabies, come with me, we’ll have some fun,” she coaxed. I almost gave in.
“No, you listen to me,” Ray began, raising his voice as well as his gun, “tell me now or you’re dead!” Typical. Ray took upon himself the role of God once again. I continued my song, hastening the beat to match the action around me.
“Woah, woah! Take it easy. I’m going to see the Detective, okay? That’s all.”
“The Detective,” Ray whispered to himself, lowering his gun. His eyes widened as he ran his fingers through his hair. “O.K. We’re coming with you,” he announced. I don’t think I’d ever witnessed him make such a quick decision. Ray’s determination reminded me of my brother. His mind, so intent upon the mission, barreled down to hope and peace. I knew that my presence only slowed him down. He toyed with my life, but always spared me. My brother joked about me always getting in his way, yet continued to include me in his activities.
My eyes crawled from his dirty black boots up his legs, wandered from his chest up to his neck, and rested upon his weathered face. His rusty-blonde hair lay in thick strands across his cheeks and over his eyes. A smudge of mud traveled from his right eye to his ear. I knew he held his pride above our… relationship, but I longed to discover his past and hear about his plans for the future. I’d have to beat it out of him… after seducing him. Despite our earlier dispute, threatening my life with his gun in my face, I felt safe with Ray. But I wanted DJ. His eyes locked with mine shortly.
“Put that shit down, lets go.” If guns hadn’t been involved, I would have used the guitar as a bat to ease my frustration.
We made our way quickly, heading south, keeping our heads down. The MPD may have had lone soldiers patrolling the streets. I nearly tripped on a pile of rubble as Jo led us past a familiar network of tunnels. “DJ...” I murmured, longingly. Maybe I could have left my crew, unnoticed, and found my way back to the Curators, with or without any new technology. At least they’d see that I wasn’t about to betray them, and DJ probably talked Isabella out of banishing me from the complex. My foot slipped and I felt myself falling over the side of the elevated wall that we ran across. My eyes filled with fear.
A hand latched onto my arm, wedging my bracelets into my skin. “Pay attention,” Ray advised after jerking me back firmly on the ledge. I nodded in response, my bands clanking as I rubbed my sore arm. I stood frozen for a moment. He had a strange way of showing it, but Ray definitely felt more than just lust for me.
We dropped down through one of the tunnels and found a looming pair of black doors. Jo beamed back at us, held both doors firmly, and pushed through them, leading us into a dark room. “Keep your voices, and your guns, down,” she whispered, glancing in Ray’s direction. He returned her remark with a sneering smile.
People filled a few seats in the dark room before us. In front of them, a projection of a black and white cartoon played on repeat. It couldn’t have been more than 15 seconds long. Some kind of bird pecked at a duck who played a banjo. It was beautiful. I soon realized that everyone now huddled near the back. When I joined them, Jo reappeared from behind a door and indicated that we were welcome to join her.
We entered the office of the Detective. I found myself oddly attracted to him. To my pleasant surprise, his face, young and charming, greeted us with a smile.